Jairam Ramesh points to irregularities in Odisha road projects

Bhubaneswar: Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh pointed out several irregularities in the implementation of road projects in Odisha under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMSY), an official said on Saturday.

In a letter to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the union minister said the state has projects worth Rs 5,000 crore under implementation, but only 50 project implementation units with the capacity to handle a workload of only Rs 3,125 crore.

"There are concerns about the quality in execution. The National Quality Monitors (NQMs) have reported 25 percent unsatisfactory works in the ongoing projects. The state quality monitors (SQMs) have not been inspecting the roads as frequently as prescribed in the guidelines" he said, in a letter of July 04.

"To execute additional projects to be sanctioned, the number of project implementation units (PIUs) with full commitment of technical staff will have to be increased to at least 70 by the end of September 2013," he said.

Emphasising the need for transparency in the implementation of the projects, Ramesh has also pointed out that maintenance-related expenditure has been low in the state, and needed to be increased.